Day Four
Result: Durham (212 & 290/8d; Raine 78, Eckersley 50, Burnham 76; Barnard 4/42 & 4/79); won against Worcestershire by 10 runs (151 & 246; Rushworth 4/28 & 6/39 Raine 3/31, Cox 62, Barnard 43, D’Oliveira 45*)
Ben Cox and Ed Barnard did offer resistance with a sixth-wicket partnership of 96, but it was in vain as Worcestershire slipped to their second defeat on the bounce in the Championship. Durham extended their unbeaten run to six matches, securing their fourth victory of the season to move into fourth place in the table, one point behind Northamptonshire in the final promotion spot.
The visitors resumed on day four on 31-3, but Rushworth was to continue his charge from the previous evening. He had an lbw appeal turned down against Ross Whiteley, although the veteran seamer returned to remove the Worcestershire batsman’s off stump for 18. Rushworth claimed his fifth wicket of the innings after probing away at Callum Ferguson. He eventually found the edge and Graham Clark took the catch at first slip to reduce the visitors to 56-5.
Worcestershire were in dire need of a partnership to stem the tide. Barnard and Cox were able to come to the fore to provide a semblance of resistance at the crease. The two players deployed a positive approach and brought a much-needed fifty partnership before the lunch break, reaching the milestone in 65 balls.
Barnard and Cox continued to frustrate the Durham bowlers after lunch, working their way towards a century stand. However, their excellent partnership was broken on 96 when Nathan Rimmington trapped Barnard lbw for 43. Cox was able to work his way to a deserved half-century – his third of the campaign – from 87 deliveries.
Brydon Carse got the vital breakthrough the hosts, utilising his pace to hurry Cox on his glance to the legside that found the edge and allowed Ryan Pringle to claim the catch at cover. Carse then notched his second wicket courtesy of a fine diving catch from Ned Eckersley behind the stumps to remove Joe Leach. Durham closed in on the victory as Dillon Pennington played a loose drive at a Rimmington delivery, resulting in a good low claim by Clark at first slip from the edge.
Brett D’Oliveira and Charlie Morris put on 43 for the final wicket, but Rushworth returned to earn his sixth wicket of the innings and 10th in the match by bowling Morris to secure the win for the hosts.
Day Three
Close, Day Three: Durham (212 & 290/8d; Burnham 76, Barnard 4-79) Worcestershire (151 & 29-3 Ferguson 15*, Rushworth 3-4)
Durham require seven wickets on the final day to defeat Worcestershire in their Specsavers County Championship Division Two clash at Emirates Riverside after reducing the visitors to 31-3 in their second innings.
Durham were able to build a match-winning position, accumulating runs with relative ease over the course of the day. Jack Burnham led the way with a brisk fifty – matching his highest score of the season. Ed Barnard claimed four wickets for the second time of the match, but he was powerless to prevent Durham setting a daunting total of 352.
Chris Rushworth tore through the Worcestershire top order in the final hour, reducing the visitors to 11-3. Callum Ferguson and Ross Whiteley were able to dig in to see out the rest of the session unscathed, although it will take a huge effort for them to avoid defeat on the final day.
Durham began day three 28-0 with Cameron Bancroft and Alex Lees at the crease, holding a lead of 87 runs over the visitors. Bancroft – playing his final match before joining up with the Australia training squad ahead of the Ashes – made a good start to the day, scoring two boundaries off the first two deliveries from Charlie Morris.
He and Lees put on fifty for their opening stand, but Bancroft was to fall for 28, caught behind off a seaming Barnard ball, ending what could be his final innings for the county this season. Lees kept up the momentum for the home side, grinding his way to an innings of 40 before he was bowled off his inside edge by Dillon Pennington.
Barnard tried to drag Worcestershire back into the contest after lunch. He clipped the off stump of Gareth Harte before dismissing Graham Clark, who failed once again in the middle order for the hosts, chopping a wide delivery on to his stumps. Ryan Pringle was then pinned lbw by Morris to give the visitors a glimmer of hope after reducing Durham to 142-5.
However, Burnham held his composure at the other end to reassert the home side’s control of the game. The 22-year-old took the attack to the Worcestershire bowlers, reaching his third half-century of the season. Burnham kicked on after passing the milestone, finding the boundary with regularity. He cleared the fence and pulled Whiteley to the rope before the bowler had his revenge when Burnham clipped the ball loosely to Ferguson at mid-wicket.
Ned Eckersley and Ben Raine continued their exploits from the first innings pushing Durham’s lead over the 300-run mark to compound the visitors’ frustration on day three. The two players put on fifty for the seventh wicket before Raine was bowled by Joe Leach for 28, while Eckersley soon followed to Barnard, edging the ball onto his stumps. Nathan Rimmington and Brydon Carse carried the home side to a lead of 350 before Bancroft declared.
It did not take long for Rushworth to make inroads, striking in his second over to clean bowl Daryl Mitchell through the gate, to claim his 50th first-class wicket of the season. Rushworth was on point again to remove Riki Wessels’ middle stump, while Joshua Dell continued procession, being trapped lbw by the veteran seamer, leaving Worcestershire 11-3.
Ferguson and Whiteley held firm amid impressive bowling from the hosts to survive the rest of the evening session, although the visitors still require 321 runs to win.
Day Two
Close, Day Two: Durham (212-10 & 26-0; Rushworth 4-28, Raine 3-31) (Worcestershire 151-10)
Durham are in a strong position after day two of their Specsavers County Championship Division Two clash against Worcestershire, holding an 87-run lead over the visitors at Emirates Riverside.
The home side added 90 runs to their overnight total courtesy of an unbeaten innings of 78 from Ben Raine, with Ed Barnard leading the way for Worcestershire with impressive figures of 4-42. Durham were relentless in their bowling effort, refusing to allow the visitors to get a foothold in their innings.
Chris Rushworth led the way claiming 4-28, dismissing Worcestershire for 151. Durham’s openers were unbeaten at the close, handing their side a solid platform to build on their innings on day three.
The hosts resumed in the morning on 122-6 with Raine and Ned Eckersley at the crease. The two players found their rhythm at the crease and brought up the century stand for the seventh wicket in 175 deliveries when Raine found the boundary. Eckersley continued his solid first season with Durham, notching his second half-century of the term after nudging the ball down the legside. However, he could not push on, edging a delivery from Barnard through to Riki Wessels at first slip. Brydon Carse joined Raine at the crease, who manoeuvred his way to fifty from 140 deliveries.
They were able to work Durham over the 200-run mark with another solid partnership, earning a batting bonus point in the process. Carse was to fall just before the lunch interval, edging a Ross Whiteley delivery to Daryl Mitchell at slip. Raine had made his way to 78, but was to run out of partners at the other end as Nathan Rimmington and Rushworth were dismissed in successive deliveries by Barnard, bowling the hosts out for 212.
Rushworth pegged back Worcestershire immediately in their reply, pinning Mitchell lbw on the back leg for a second-ball duck. Callum Ferguson scored 11, but Raine notched his first wicket of the innings to remove the Australian lbw. Riki Wessels opened the innings for the first time in the Championship, and played well scoring five boundaries to reach 33, only to be bowled by the medium pace of Gareth Harte.
Day One
Close, Day One: Durham (122-6; Eckersley 39*, Raine 25*)
Worcestershire are narrowly on top after a rain-affected day one of their Specsavers County Championship Division Two clash against Durham, although late resistance guided the home side to a total of 122-6 at the close at Emirates Riverside.
Joe Leach and Charlie Morris were on point with the ball in the morning session, taking two wickets apiece reducing Durham to 47-6. The afternoon and evening sessions were blighted by poor weather, but the breaks in play gave Ned Eckersley and Ben Raine time to settle. The two players put on a partnership worth 75 to stem the tide and hand the hosts a decent platform for day two.
Durham were inserted in the morning session after an uncontested toss. Cameron Bancroft appeared to be continuing his excellent form at the crease, scoring two boundaries from the opening over. However, the Durham skipper was pinned lbw by a fine delivery from Dillon Pennington for only eight. Leach found his rhythm after his underwhelming first over to remove Gareth Harte and Jack Burnham in successive deliveries.
Morris’ introduction into the attack resulted in the wicket of Alex Lees for 12 as the opener played all around a straight ball. On his recall to the team Ryan Pringle failed to make an impact, loosely clipping a drive straight to Joshua Dell at mid-wicket off a routine delivery from Ed Barnard. A tight line from Morris was rewarded when Graham Clark feathered an edge through to Ben Cox, leaving the home side 47-6 before rain ended the morning session.
The weather prevented further play until after 3pm. Eckersley began to lead a recovery effort, finding the boundary to get the scoreboard moving in the right direction for Durham. He and Raine kept the Worcestershire attack at bay before another interruption due to the elements.
However, the players were quickly on the field after a brief stoppage. Eckersley continued in the same manner in the middle, picking his moments to score.The partnership for the seventh wicket moved to 40 before the overhead conditions worsened once again, forcing the duo to drop anchor.
Towards the end of the day the weather cleared, Eckersley and Raine took the opportunity to bring up their fifty partnership in 91 balls, reaching the milestone courtesy of a boundary down the ground from the former. The two players guided their side over the 100-run mark before further rain brought an end to the day.